The New Year's & Christmas Video

Here's our annual virtual Christmas/New Year's Card...just for those of you who couldn't open the link I sent out. ALSO, it was supposed to have audio (music) and I've been told by a few that the music didn't work?! That is too bad. Anyway here is the link to watch.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and best wishes for a WONDERFUL 2010!

Video of Evan Laughing

He is just so much fun these days. SUCH a social little boy at the moment...laughing, smiling and just getting FUN!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHqLl-y4YMo

FUN times screaming!

I'll get pics up for yesterdays post soon...but I just didn't want to forget this video that I upload a few weeks ago. It was when Evan learned about his "screaming voice"..He loves to scream, but in a nice way! So much fun to make noise like the big kids can do! Enjoy!

Kaitlyn's 3rd Birthday!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY Kaitlyn!

3 Years of happiness!
12 seasons of wonder!
36 months of laughs!
1096 nights of sweet dreams!
1096 days of joy and blessings!!

Kaitlyn is THREE today! How exciting for a little girl to be three!! Today she awoke to a beautifully sunny day (blue skied and warm!). My good friend Alexandra sent Kaitlyn a birthday gift last week (I peeked last night and knew it had to be the first gift she would open today). It was a BEAUTIFUL summery, strawberry dress which was a perfect match with her Strawberry Shortcake birthday theme (THANK YOU ALEX)! She looks like a princess in this dress with the flared, full bottom and feels like one too! She twirled and spun as she put the dress on....Excitedly she sped downstairs to the birthday room .Krista and I were awake until midnight last night decorating the family room with balloons and streamers and setting out her gifts. Her big gift this year is a princess bicycle! Her FIRST bike with training wheels. She loves it...although for the moment it is Krista and Erik who are pushing her around on it but I know it won't be long until she pedals on her own. Infact, after her nap today we'll head out and see if she can do it by herself. I predict by the end of this weekend she'll be a pro on it!

After she played on her bike, we opened a few more gifts..She LOVES puzzles so she got about 4 puzzles and of course her Barbie doll from yesterday. Toomas made her pancakes for brunch and she ran around ( or was pushed around on her bike) all morning. She was exhausted and is soundly sleeping now. This afternoon we'll open a few more gifts---A Strawberry Shortcake bedding set which will accompany her in her transition into her BIG GIRL bed in the next few weeks, and a few coloring books and reading books left to open for tonight. We plan on taking the bike out later today too and then ordering...you guessed it--PIZZA for dinner! And for dessert cake and ice cream! :) A fun day for a big girl! Happy Birthday Sweet Kaitlyn!!!!

Here's her big girl bike!!!


A video of Kaitlyn opening her new dress from Alexandra and Gabriel!

Sharing a little Evan Video...12 Weeks

Here is our little Evan. He is just so cute now and I'm just so IN LOVE with him (but I'm not biased! :)) He has been so fun these last few weeks...He is so attentive and alert and just SUCH a great little boy! I can't believe how blessed I have been with him!! He is my DREAM baby! Absolutely, hands down, my best baby. He has been on a schedule since 2 months (it took me 6 months with the other kids). I don't know how I got so lucky this time...but things are WORKING! Evan goes to bed by 9:45 or 10...and wakes at 10 in the morning (and wakes either once or twice max). Ten may sound like a late wake up but it is working so well for me right now. It gives me time to see the kids off to school and then have a few moments to myself before Kaitlyn wakes up. I have time to get her fed and dressed and then it is Evan's turn to wake and eat. Having everyone a bit staggered like this is very manageable. I'm just SO thrilled that when I go to bed at night I'm almost guaranteed 6 or 7 hours. This is just AWESOME for me!!! I feel SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO blessed (and actually, honestly rested!!). This last month has been wonderful. One night he even slept 10.5 hours (that was painful for me)...but amazing. So here is my little superstar. I just love him to pieces!!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

More Baby Evan Pictures!

Today we had a visit from our friend Sandrine. She brought with her the most LOVELY gifts for Evan and the older kids. I will definately post a photo of her wonderfully kind and thoughtful gifts in a separate post. For now just simply...THANK YOU SANDRINE, EVA, FLAVIE and JACKY!!

And of course....more pictures (and even a little video!) today as promised!! I am LOVING being able to take endless pictures of this little guy!! He NEVER complains and NEVER runs from the camera! He's my DREAM subject (for the moment)! :) As for the birth story. I've now edited it and will post it on the pregnancy blog tomorrow (see right column for link).

I'm also attaching a little video clip of us right before we left the hospital.

This is Evan yesterday sleeping soundly in his bassinet! I'm SO glad he is a sleeper! I'm BLESSED!!!!

These are some of the "portraits" I've taken of Evan. I did a big newborn shoot week when he was 5-10 days old...I'll have a lot more to post when I get more time. I just randomly picked these.

The BROTHERS!!!!
Evan's FIRST bath at home. He had one in the hospital on his 3rd day also... He is SOOOOOOOOOO tiny in this tub!!!
A video of Evan right before we left the hospial on his big homecoming day!!!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Santa Claus gives you PRESENTS!

REALLY, he gives you PRESENTS!!!!!! Kaitlyn got the idea this year. I got a funny clip of her talking about it SO seriously. HE GIVES YOU PRESENTS!!!!! We laughed so hard at how she was SO sure about this!!!!

Kaitlyn Can Sing!!!!

Well this is funny, but Kaitlyn knows how to sing!!! She REALLY can. Her vocabulary pretty darn big for a 13 month old too! She can sing "Happy Birthday to You" and has even started singing the A,B,C song also!! Here is a little clip of Kaitlyn singing "Happy Birthday." It was taken 3 days ago on her 13 month birthday. She DID NOT want to sing for the camera, and put up a bit of a battle, but we got it. She is usually very happy to sing, except when I force her!!! Part I is ME singing the song to get her into the mood and Part II is Kaitlyn singing a few verses!!! You have to listen pretty hard but it is there :)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Bouncing Baby Girl

So, Kaitlyn had a rough week but has now recovered. She got in tooth #6 and had a good many sleepless nights with that, and then this week while practicing walking (holding my hands) she managed to hurt her elbow--all was fine though, just a scare for me! :) She's back to her happy self now though, and is sleeping MUCH better also.

For some fun, I brought up my brother Tommy's old baby jumper. Kaitlyn was MADE for this thing! She had a blast! She is really coming out of her shell these days. She is talking NON-STOP now.. Dada, mama, buba, ba ba, ga ga, back back (which is quack quack for the duck). She turned 9 months this week too--just AMAZING! Oh and one more WONDERFUL development is that she now gives kisses on command. I just LOVE this age. I ask her to give me a kiss and she actually does it almost 100% of the time! So fun!!! I'll try to get a full update on her 9 month self very soon. I had a computer outage this week so I'm a bit behind----we had a corrupted hard drive, but fortunately the computer guys at Toomas' work helped us out and all is repaired and back to normal.

Here is Kaitlyn having a bit of fun!!!

Make photo slide shows at onetruemedia.com

The Face Flop

Little Kaitlyn still has a lot of learning to do! Right now she isn't very mobile, but with each passing day she is getting closer and closer. As far as her mobility goes, she is able to play on her stomach and turn 360 degrees and has quite a long reach to get objects she really wants. When on a smoother surface and sitting, she can sort of scoot forward also. My favorite is the face flop. To her credit, she does only do this when on the bed as she knows it is soft and will get her within inches of something she wants. It is funny!

The end of a wonderful year!!

Tonight with a tear in our eye we bid farewell to the year 2006, a wonderful year for our family. Never fear 2006, you will not be forgotten! A new home, a new baby and lots of wonderful memories--it was an exciting year and one that will forever live in our hearts and memories. We are thankful for all of God's goodness this past year...and pray that we will be equally as blessed in the year ahead.

I put together a slideshow of our special first Christmas in the new house. This holiday season has been a wonderful reward for all of our efforts during the building process--cozy Christmas fires, delicious meals prepared in the new kitchen.... It is amazing to have this dream a reality and the baby we dreamed of here with us also to share it! Praise the good Lord!

Happy New Year and blessings to all for a beautiful 2007!

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Cookie Time

Christmas Cookie Baking!

We finally got cooking on the Christmas cookies! I'm happy to report that we now have about 5 dozen Christmas cookies to share and enjoy. Krista loved cutting out the dough and rolling it to the precise thickness this year. Erik on the other hand only wanted to do 3 cookies for himself (the nutcracker, santa and a rocking horse). He did enjoy frosting the cookies, but WATCH out for Erik's cookies--they are HEAVY on the frosting and decorations! Erik was too funny. He asked if the cookies had to "calm down" before we could eat them! Krista was my big help this year though..sticking in with me from start to finish (and even helping me remember what time I put the cookies in the oven!). Kaitlyn slept the whole time (THANKFULLY). I was dreading having to go pick her up with flour all over myself. We had a fun time and the end product is of course delicious!

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Krista's Christmas Choral Performance

Last night was Krista's Choral Performance in a neighboring village. There were 3 local villages that joined together to sing in preparation for Christmas. It was a very beautiful show--with both children and adults performing. There were even several songs that the audience was invited to sing along with as well.

The Concert was held in a beautiful, very old Abby in the village right next door to ours. Krista had a really fun time and was thrilled to sing for everyone. Erik really enjoyed the concert too--and was very patient waiting for Krista to perform. Unfortunately Kaitlyn was sick and had to stay home with Toomas. We took lots of video though so Toomas could see the show. Here is a little clip that I put together just now while Kaitlyn was FINALLY napping.

Enjoy the show!

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Baptism Video Footage

Hello again with another Baptism entry. For all of you who couldn't be with us on Kaitlyn's special day, I am attaching some actual video footage that I edited from the ceremony. MUCH THANKS to our good friend Patrick for his fine videography work! I put English titles on this clip so everyone could follow along (the ceremony was in French of course). Anyway, this is a greatly condensed version of the Baptism (it was a 35 minute ceremony... reduced here to a 4 minute clip). Hope you enjoy!

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Kaitlyn's Baptism Slideshow

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Scratching Sounds

Kaitlyn is always discovering something. There is so much to learn about when you are only 6 months old! This a.m. after we got up she discovered that her new pj's which have textured feet, make a wonderful crinkly, scratching sound when she rubbed them on the chair. THIS SMALL discovery kept her happy, laughing and smiling for nearly ONE HOUR! She was content listening to her feet rub on the chair for a full 45 minutes! Oh the joys of discovering something new! We had fun watching her enjoy herself also. Oh and in the bottom picture you can see her two new teeth! One is almost fully in and one is on its way!

Oh, and here's a clip of her having fun with her new sound effect:

Fruit SALAD!

Well, in keeping with Erik's idea that Kaitlyn would be starting SALADS...we decided to make the transition to fruit! Not quite a fruit salad, but anyway at least one ingredient!!!

So here is a clip of Erik helping me feed Kaitlyn her apples. He was very encouraging and really enjoyed watching his little sister. I gave him a taste and he immediately wanted me to give him a bowl too. So, this week is applesauce week for everyone :) Even Kaitlyn seemed to like them.

So here is the clip Grandma has been waiting for...Kaitlyn eating with a spoon!!! She is taking about 2 tablespoons now at a sitting which I think is excellent, considering Erik NEVER ate pureed food and went right to chunks towards his first birthday.

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

On Grandma's Special Day....


Dear Grandma,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR GRANDMA....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

It sure is hard being so far away from family when it is celebration time, but we are at least grateful we had such a special October visit together!

Here are 2 videos of the kids singing to Grandma..The first was just a warm up...the second is much more lively :) Enjoy!




And with a bit more energy...




Love to Grandma from all of us!!!
Kelly, Toomas, Krista, Erik and Kaitlyn

School Vacation

Here in France we're on school vacation this week and next week! The French seem to have a LOT of school vacations (this one being for All Saints Day). All of these vacations are great for the kids, but the downside is that summer vacation is rendered a bit short in my opinion!!

We aren't up to much this vacation...just keeping busy in the neighborhood (with a few planned outings for next week). The kids have a million friends here in the cul-de-sac so they aren't bored. We've been taking Kaitlyn on walks and going to a few of the local parks. PLUS, we've been sleeping in! It feels great not to have to rush around in the morning. Krista's rhythmic gymnastics class is still being held during the vacaction though, (2x a week as a matter of fact), so that is something for her to look forward to!

The weather is still wonderful here. Sunny and in the 70's! We couldn't be more spoiled!

I thought it would be fun to take a look at what they are on vacation from:

Here is a sample of both kids school work at the moment!

Krista (2nd Grade): Reciting a poem "Le Tamanoir" and her notebook where its written.





Erik (Pre-school): LEARNING to write the days of the week!

The Protest!

We're making progress (I think?)... According to the widely read parents handbook "What to Expect The First Year" Kaitlyn is developing new skills. Okay, I confess, it wasn't one of the skills I was hoping she'd acquire so quickly....but she did.. and I must say, in this category she is very advanced for her age!!! You may now be wondering and what is that new skill? That skill, ladies and gents is called "The Protest"....and my little baby girl has mastered it, down to a tee. In her defense this is a necessary skill to have in a house with two older and stronger siblings...it's simply survial of the fittest.

I am now going to share with you photos that have recently been concealed. This "first protest" was way back in early October...at the young age of 5 months and 4 days. You see...according to the book, she would be considered advanced even if she acquired this skill only in her SIXTH month, but infact at a wee 5 months she already had it down pat!

Excerpt, photos and video to follow....

You can see the text...."may possibly be able to:" ****OBJECT if toy is taken away

So, here we are....5 Months and 4 days: The first protest, over a paper cone. It was a LARGE and exciting kid-suprise cone and she just simply WANTED it....

The most recent protest was a few nights ago...this time the culprit--a "Yu-Gi-Oh" card. Some may not know what this means, but to a 4-10 year old a "Yu-Gi-Oh" card is worth GOLD...and apparently to Kaitlyn also. Toomas made the mistake of giving her the card which she realized she loved and NEEDED. Enter stage left: Erik, who wanted HIS card back (so he swiped it away)!!! Result---a VERY unhappy baby, exhibiting her new "objection" skills. Enter stage right: Krista who shows Kaitlyn a toy in attempt to cheer her up (which fails miserably). Screams now are becoming piercing to the ear. We need help and fast!!! Krista then yells out "WAIT, I'll go get one of MY Yu-Gi-Oh cards"!! Result: COMPLETE satisfaction for Kaitlyn and demonstration of SUPREME objection skills.